Teen pen maker is cashing in after 5 years in business

Every afternoon, Anna Williams uses a pen to complete her homework before going to her workshop to make one herself. At 14 years old, Anna is in her fifth year of business as a pen maker. Her company is called Pens Ink and she's sold more than 200 handmade pens in the last year. At around $50 to $750 each, that amounts to nearly $10,000.

"This year has definitely been my busiest year- my best year," said Anna.

Williams uses historical wood for the pens, including a beam from the Erie Canal, and wood from trees on the estates of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

"I really enjoy being able to take a piece of history and...give it a new life," said Anna.

The idea came to Williams at the age of 8 years old, when her dad, Michael, showed her a web video of a teen making pens for inspiration.

"It was really one of these things for me as a father to say, 'hey, Anna, here's something - look what kids can do at any age,'" said Michael Williams.

Anna took it literally. Eventually, her dad invested a few hundred dollars for her first pen lathe. It takes an hour to make each pen. Anna says business the first year was slow, but took off after she joined the local chamber of commerce.

"People really started to come up to me and you know, yelling across the room, 'Hey, is that the pen girl? I need to talk to you!'"

Anna hasn't decided what she wants to be when she grows up, but for now, she's got a business to run.